


SERMON 



DELIVERED 



MARCH 29, 1 830, 



THOMAS F • D A V I E S 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST 



CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY 



green's farms. 



NEW HAVEN: 

PRINTED BY B. h. IIAMLEN. 
1839. 



SERMON 



DELIVERED 



MARCH 29, 1 839, 



THOMAS F. DAVIES: 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST 



CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY 



GREENS FARMS. 



NEW HAVEN: 

PRINTED BY B. L. HAMLEN. 



1839. 






' 



S ERMON. 



Psalm lxxvii, 5 — I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 

We are assembled on an interesting occasion. Two centuries 
since, the town we now inhabit, was the abode of savage men ; 
and we are convened after the expiration of two hundred years 
from its settlement by our ancestors, to trace the manner in which 
the wilderness has been converted into a fruitful field ; to inquire 
who were the men by whom so great an enterprise was com- 
menced and carried forward ; to consider the principles by which 
they were influenced and the objects they had in view, and to 
draw from objects so abundant in instruction, lessons of practical 
wisdom, under the influence of which we also may become the 
benefactors of those who in succeeding times shall dwell in these 
pleasant places. 

The settlement of New England is one of the results of the 
Reformation, which we may consider as commencing in Eng- 
land, in the reign of Henry VIII. 

No Protestant should be insensible of the services of Wickliffe, 
who has been styled "the Morning Star of the Reformation," but 
who may with more propriety be considered as one of those lights 
which God gave his Church in that dark night, when papacy 
brooded over the world. By him the New Testament was trans- 
lated into the English language. He was an able and voluminous 
writer, and maintained doctrines which at the Reformation were 
reasserted. More than forty years after his death, his bones, and 
writings were burnt by order of the Council of Constance, his 
followers persecuted, and the fears of the papacy which with 
good reason had been excited, were at length quieted by a law of 
Henry V, which declared that whoever " should read the Scrip- 
tures in the mother tongue, should forfeit land, cattle and goods, 
from their heirs forever, and so be condemned for heretics to 
God, and most arrant traitors to the land." A period of dark- 
ness intervened between the suppression of the followers of 
Wickliffe and the Reformation. 

In the reign of Henry VIII, the Reformation which by the 
labors of Luther and others had been commenced in Germany, 
and extended into other European states, was felt in England. 
Causes which it is not necessary to assign, separated that monarch 
from the communion of Rome, and he was himself declared to 



be " the sole and supreme head of the Church of England." 
The Bible was translated, and every church furnished with a 
copy. 

In the reign of his son, Edward VI, Cranmer and his il- 
lustrious associates availing themselves of the countenance fur- 
nished by a virtuous prince, urged forward the Reformation, and 
in a convocation of the bishops and clergy, Articles of Religion 
were adopted, subscription to which was required from all hold- 
ing office in the church. They did not consider themselves as 
having accomplished all that was desirable ; but in one of their 
service books, assert " they had gone as far as they could in reform- 
ing the church, considering the times in which they lived, and 
hope that those who come after them, will, as they may, do more." 

In the reign of Mary, who succeeded Edward on the throne, 
a sad reverse was seen. Popery was re-established ; in her short 
reign of six years, many suffered death, and numbers fled to the 
continent, whence, on the approach of happier days, we may sup- 
pose, that most of them returned. 

At the accession of Elizabeth, it was manifest that veneration 
for the papal power had lost its hold of a vast majority of English 
minds. The fires of persecution had wrought the downfal of 
the papacy, and the prophecy of Latimer was fulfilled, who said 
to his co-martyr Ridley, " We shall this day light such a candle 
in England, as I trust in God's grace shall never be put out." 

Great difference of opinion however, existed, with respect to the 
extent to which the Reformation should be carried. The dueen 
exhibited her love of power in the government of the church, 
and while many ardently wished that some of those "ornaments 
and ceremonies" which having been connected with the Romish 
ritual, were still retained in the church, might be relinquished, 
the Queen was so far from yielding to their wishes, that she prob- 
ably sought, and certainly received, power from the Parliament 
" to add any new ceremonies which she thought proper." The 
question of independence of Rome, having been considered as de- 
cided, two great parties now existed in the English Church. One 
party attached to habits and ceremonies, hallowed in their view 
by long continued use in the temples of religion, enforced their 
observance, with rigor, while the other party which had received 
the name of Puritans, from conscientious scruples, refused to sub- 
mit to them. It would not however be just to consider either 
of those divisions which the English Church embraced, as con- 
tending during the long period of their controversy, only for 
the observance or non-observance of ceremonies. Many who 
sought a further reform, were opposed to Episcopacy and to the 
Liturgy, and it is very possible, that the unwillingness to dis- 
pense with certain habits and ceremonies would have been less 
strenuous, had there been no knoAvledge or suspicion that the 



views of the Puritans extended further. The dispute to which 
we now refer appears to have had entire reference to the vest- 
ments of the clergy. 

About the year 1564 there existed a considerable variety of 
sacerdotal dress. In the performance of divine service, some of 
the clergy wore " a square cap, some a round cap, some a button 
cap, some a hat, some were in scholars' clothes, and some in 
others." Disputes arose. " The bishops published their ' adver- 
tisements' to the clergy, prescribing an exact conformity as to 
the fashion of their dress, ' gowns, caps, cuffs, sleeves and tip- 
pets.' By this measure, a portion of the most serious and useful 
ministers who had continued to preach, were expelled from their 
pulpits and shut up in prison. They refused to conform. Some 
of them became physicians, some became chaplains in private 
families, some fled to Scotland, others to the continent, some re- 
sorted to secular business, and many with large families were re- 
duced to want and beggary. The churches were shut, the pub- 
lic mind was inflamed. Six hundred people repaired to a church 
in London to receive the sacrament ; the doors were closed, no 
minister would officiate. The cries of the people reached the 
Throne, but the Throne was inexorable. The suspended min- 
isters appealed to the world, and published an able defence of 
their conduct. The Star Chamber decreed, that no person should 
publish any book against the Queen and ordinances or their mean- 
ing. Booksellers were compelled to enter into bonds to observe 
this law. This measure hastened the controversy to a signal crisis. 
The suspended ministers finding themselves in a pressing dilem- 
ma, having lost all hope of relief, had a solemn consultation and 
agreed, that since they could not have the word of God preached, 
nor the sacraments administered, without idolatrous geare, it was 
their duty to break off from the public church, and to assemble in 
private houses and elsewhere."* 

Various persecutions succeeded. At the instigation of Whit- 
gift, the Queen established a Court of High Commission which 
was to all intents and purposes an inquisition. She appointed forty 
four Commissioners, three of whom made a quorum, and whose 
jurisdiction extended over the whole kingdom and over all or- 
ders of men. " They were directed to make inquiry not only 
by the legal method of jurors and witnesses, but by all other 
means and ways which they could devise ; that is, by the rack, 
by torture, by inquisition, by imprisonment. The fines which 
they levied were discretionary, and often occasioned the total ruin 
of the offender, contrary to the established laws of the kingdom. 
The imprisonment to which they condemned any delinquent, 
was limited to no rule but their own pleasure. They assumed 

* Morse and Parish, p. xxxi, et seq. 



the power of imposing on the clergy what new articles of sub- 
scription, and consequently of faith, they thought proper." 

In 1591, it was by Parliament enacted, "that if any person 
above the age of sixteen, shall for one month refuse to attend at 
some Episcopal Church, and after conviction shall not in three 
months make a humble confession, he shall go into perpetual 
banishment ; if he do not depart in the time appointed, or if he 
return without the Queen's license, he shall suffer death, with- 
out benefit of clergy." 

In 1603, James VI, of Scotland and I, of England suc- 
ceeded Elizabeth, and disappointed the expectations of those 
who wished a more thorough reformation. The present trans- 
lation of the Scriptures was indeed made, but the Court of High 
Commission existed in the full possession of its original powers. 
"Liberty of conscience," says the most distinguished English 
historian, " was totally suppressed, and no exercise of any reli- 
gion but the established, was permitted throughout the king- 
dom." — " I will make them conform," was the language of James, 
"or I will hurry them out of the land, or else worse." 

Under these circumstances a number resolved to go into the 
Low Countries. To escape from England, however, was no 
easy task. The first attempt failed, and those who engaged in 
it were arrested, and for a time imprisoned. The next attempt 
was more successful ; but the approach of an armed force com- 
pelled a portion of the emigrants to sail, leaving the women and 
children to the tender mercies of the existing powers. " Charity 
and humanity," says the historian, " would have cheered the 
weeping throng ; but those heavenly spirits were not there. Per- 
secution raised her voice terrible as death, — she hurried them from 
one place to another, from one officer to another. To imprison 
so many innocent women and children would have excited indig- 
nation. Their meekness and Christian deportment made a deep 
and favorable impression on the hearts of many spectators, which 
produced considerable accessions to their number. But by cour- 
age and perseverance they all finally crossed over to Holland, 
and united with their friends." Important considerations indu- 
ced them, after the lapse of about twelve years, to leave Holland 
for America. Indeed it was so difficult for them to procure the 
means of subsistence, that it is stated "many preferred prisons 
in England to liberty in Holland, accompanied by such suffer- 
ings." They procured a Patent from the Virginia Company, 
which subsequent events rendered useless, and after impressive 
religious services, and a most solemn and affectionate parting, 
which furnishes one of the most affecting passages in the entire 
compass of history, a portion of these exiles sailed for America. 
They landed at Plymouth in December, 1620. " Immediately 
after their landing, they fell on their knees with hearty thanks 
to God, who had been their assurance when far off on the sea." 



The course of events the mean while in England continued 
unfavorable to the cause of religious freedom. That which es- 
pecially tended to the increasing and permanent separation of 
those who had been bred in the same religious communion was 
the influence and advancement of Laud, who was made chaplain 
to the King in 1617, and who became bishop in 1621. He 
was high in favor with Charles I, who succeeded to the throne 
in 1625. While large numbers were desirous of further reform, 
and others, perhaps, of changes which would have affected the 
very order and constitution of the church, Archbishop Laud, (for 
by this title he is generally known, although he did not attain 
the primacy until 1633,) endeavored to give an impress of doc- 
trine and of ceremony to the English Church, which would have 
made it very nearly resemble the Church of Rome, and was the 
most distinguished of those men by whom our ancestors were 
persecuted out of England. 

Living when juster sentiments respecting religion and govern- 
ment began to prevail, he sought to augment the powers of the 
church and the burdens of the people. It is said, indeed, that he 
was not a papist ; but whoever reads an account of the manner 
in which he dedicated the temples of religion, or administered 
the sacrament of the supper, will feel unable to point to any 
source whence the bigotry of Archbishop Laud could have ac- 
quired a deeper tinge. We question not his sincerity ; but while 
granting this, Ave cannot forget those violations of the laws of 
God, and the rights of man, which excited the indignation of an 
oppressed people. 

In forming our estimate of the scenes which are passing in re- 
view before us, and of the men engaged in them, we are to re- 
member that religious toleration, in the true sense of that ex- 
pression, was unknown. It existed in the Low Countries by suf- 
ferance for a time, as it regarded the English exiles ; and the 
knowledge that it might at any moment be taken away, had an 
influence in forming their determination to seek a refuge in the 
wilds of America. The French King indulged the Huguenots 
at this period with a toleration, but fearful was the price which 
they at length paid for such an indulgence. To toleration, all 
parties in England were opposed, — the persecutors and the per- 
secuted. They denominated such toleration " soul murder," and 
a " relaxing of the golden reins of discipline ;" and Cotton Mather, 
in a subsequent age, asserted, that if toleration were ever allowed, 
we should call his name Gad, "for behold 'a troop' cometh, a 
troop of all abominations." Nor could the Presbyterians of Eng- 
land or Scotland, perfect as was their dread of prelatical domina- 
tion, have claimed, even at a subsequent period, any precedence 
in the cause of religious freedom. That the ecclesiastical was 
independent of the civil power, was the common opinion of the 
first reformers of Britain. In Scotland, the Presbyterian pre- 



8 

served this tenet with more success lhan the Episcopalian in 
England, and obtained signal triumphs over the Government ; 
and independence of the civil power, has to this day been more 
perfectly preserved in the former than in the latter country. The 
General Assembly of the church of Scotland still exists, while 
the Convocation of the English Church has long since lost its 
vital power, although an occasional assemblage is held around its 
tomb. The Church of Scotland, as well as the English Church, 
looked to the civil arm to execute the pains and penalties adjudg- 
ed by the church. Of toleration, that church then knew noth- 
ing, and has never manifested any remarkable proficiency in the 
acquisition of that useful lesson ; and so late as 1712, it bore "a 
solemn testimony against toleration." The ecclesiastical courts 
of Scotland could pronounce a sentence of excommunication, in 
virtue of which, the "whole estate during life, and the mova- 
bles, forever were forfeited to the crown." Religious toleration 
was not acknowledged by the laws of any land ; and we should 
not be unsparing in our censures of what we consider so great 
an error, or consider it an evidence of mental weakness in the 
men of that age. Antiquity was against it. The admission of 
toleration would have been going contrary to the experience of 
ages. Where men are ignorant, they begin to distrust and to 
fear. We see the influence of this natural tendency in the little 
child, who, as the shades of evening gather around him, relin- 
quishes the objects of its infantile amusement, and draws near 
the side of its parent. To have ventured on the untried ex- 
panse of universal toleration of religious opinion, would have 
been proceeding in darkness ; and our ancestors, of whatever 
party, supposed that Church and State might at once sink in 
vast abyss. That it could exist, and be a source of good, and 
not of evil, was as much of a discovery as that of Columbus, and 
has added as much to the sum of human enjoyment. Toleration 
is the safety valve of the church ; it promotes the peace and 
comfort of all ; and this simple process will safely diffuse in the 
wide expanse, all the stores of supernumerary zeal. When all 
then were in an error, we cannot brand any individual for the in- 
dulgence of the common sentiment. True charity and enlarged 
views would, however, even in these unfavorable circumstances, 
have recommended a comprehensive religious establishment. 
The founders of the Colonies of Massachusetts and Connecti- 
cut determined to leave their native land. No one who allows 
the right of private judgment in matters of religion, will blame 
them for dissent from the Church of England as then established. 
We shall not enter upon the substantial merits of the subjects in 
dispute. We simply say, that if our ancestors objected to pre- 
lacy, to a liturgy, to the sign of the cross in baptism, and to 
other matters which might be specified, they exercised what is 
now universally considered an undoubted right. They desired 



not only freedom to worship in the way they judged most agree- 
able to the word of God, but as intimately connected with this, 
the liberty of choosing their own religious teachers. 

Our fathers did not attribute the evils they endured to the Church 
of England as such, but to individuals bearing sway within it, 
acting in concert with the civil rulers. When, in 1 629, they sailed 
from the Isle of Wight, and had come " to the Land's End, Mr. 
Higginson, calling up his children and other passengers to take 
their last sight of England, said, ' Farewell England, farewell 
the Church of God in England, and all Christian friends there,' 
concluding with a fervent prayer for the King, Church and State 
of England;" and no men, did they now live, would more re- 
joice in the true prosperity of the English Church, and the be- 
neficent influence she is exerting in other lands, than many of 
those who at this period left England for America. 

That the motives which led to the settlement of the New Eng- 
land Colonies were of a religious nature, no one conversant with 
the history of those times will question. The General Court of 
this State, in 1672, give us their testimony on this subject. " It 
recognizes the design of the first planters, who. as the Court ex- 
presses it, ' settled these foundations' for the maintaining of ' reli- 
gion according to the gospel of our Lord Jesus.'"* 

In a document drawn up by the ministers of New England, the 
reason for leaving their native land, and seeking a home in this wil- 
derness, is stated to be, "that the ancient faith and true worship 
might be found inseparable companions in their practice, and 
that their posterity might be undefiled in religion."! Connected 
with this, there was also doubtless a desire for a better civil gov- 
ernment than was in England then possessed. The subject of 
civil liberty, and the privileges of the subject, were much can- 
vassed at this period, and by no class of men were they better un- 
derstood than by the Puritans. It is asserted by Hume, that " the 
precious spark of liberty had been kindled, and was preserved by 
the Puritans alone ; and it was to this sect, that the English owe 
the whole freedom of their constitution." We shall find evidence 
as we proceed, that the fathers of Connecticut were distinguished 
among their brethren for their knowledge of civil government. 
With these motives which led to the settlement of New Eng- 
land, other motives may have mingled. The love of enterprise 
and adventure, which might find ample field in this wide conti- 
nent ; the gain which might arise from commerce or the discov- 
ery of the precious metals, may have had an influence to increase 
the number of emigrants ; but that the settlers of our land were, 
in the first instance, men who here sought a free exercise of re- 
ligious opinions and worship, will be conceded by all conversant 



* Trumbull, Vol. i, p. 323. t Hist, of New England, p. 48. 



10 

with their history. So severe had been the laws, that at the 
Revolution in England, a law was enacted, " that the statutes of 
Queen Elizabeth and King James I, concerning the discipline 
of the Church, should not extend to Protestant Dissenters."* We 
are to distinguish between the objects of those noblemen and 
gentlemen of England who obtained Patents from the King for 
the establishment and government of colonies in America, and 
the motives by which those who settled under the protection of 
those Patents were influenced. Motives of gain had doubtless a 
great influence with the former. 

Under a Patent issued Nov. 3, 1620, certain noblemen and gen- 
tlemen were incorporated under the title, " The Council estab- 
lished at Plymouth, in the County of Devon, for the planting, 
ruling, ordering and governing of New England in America;" 
and to them was granted the territory lying between the 40th 
and 48th degrees of north latitude ; and the persecutions in Eng- 
land not only continuing but increasing in severity, the number 
of Puritans was greatly augmented, for many warm advocates 
of civil liberty made common cause with those who were denied 
the just rights of subjects. 

It was in 1627 that purchases were made of the Plymouth 
Company for the founding of the Colony of Massachusetts, but 
as that Company conferred no powers of government, a Charter 
was subsequently obtained from Charles I, constituting them a 
body politic, by the name of the " Governor and Company of 
Massachusetts Bay in New England." To join those who had 
preceded them in that interesting settlement, there embarked, in 
the spring of 1630, from different ports in England, about fifteen 
hundred emigrants. The expedition consisted of eleven vessels, 
fitted at the expense of more than £21,000. These took with 
them the Charter of the Colony, without which they were un- 
willing to emigrate, and under its provisions enjoyed a degree of 
freedom unknown in the parent land. In this expedition came 
those who were subsequently the founders of the Colony of Con- 
necticut, and the most distinguished of the first settlers of the 
town and county of Fairfield. 

The history of Massachusetts, however, until 1635, is our his- 
tory. There our fathers settled, and were numbered with her 
distinguished and useful men. We claim, in common with our 
brethren of "the Massachusetts," the recollections of that period, 
and with them gather as numerous around the grave of the Lady 
Arbella. Thither shall the daughters of New England come, 
strewing the fairest flowers of our valleys on the tomb of her who 
perished as a rose in adverse storms, but which has left a fra- 
grance that is imperishable. 

* Jacob's Law Dictionary. Art. Dissenters. 



11 

Various reasons, the most prominent of which were the con- 
stant accession to their numbers, caused by the persecutions in 
England, and reports respecting the fertile valley of the Connec- 
ticut, induced those who had settled Dorchester, Watertown, and 
Newtown in Massachusetts, to leave that Colony. The people 
of Dorchester removed and settled Windsor ; those of Watertown, 
Wethersfield ; and those of Newtown, Hartford. These were 
the three first towns of Connecticut. They came as churches ; 
as such they " were gathered antecedently to their settlement in 
Connecticut, and it does not appear that they were ever re-gath- 
ered afterwards." The hardships experienced in this removal, 
and for a considerable time afterward, were very great. 

They were without the limits of Massachusetts, and in the 
occupancy of territory for which Lord Say and Seal and others 
had obtained a Patent from the Council of Plymouth. Under 
these peculiar circumstances they determined to form a constitu- 
tion of civil government ; and in January, 1G39, the free planters 
convened at Hartford, and adopted a Constitution. This provided 
for two General Courts or Assemblies to be held annually. The 
choice of officers was to be made by ballot by the whole body of 
freemen. It provided that all persons who had been received as 
members of the several towns by a majority of the inhabitants, 
and had taken the oath of fidelity to the Commonwealth, should 
be admitted freemen of the Colony. The Governor could not 
hold his office two years in succession, and neither the Governor 
nor magistrates might execute any part of their office until they 
had been publicly sworn, in the face of the General Assembly. 

All the provisions of this instrument had an especial regard to 
the rights of the people. It provided, in case the Governor and 
other magistrates did not comply with the laws requiring them to 
convene the General Assembly or Court, the freemen might them- 
selves hold it, in person or by deputy ; and in the Assembly thus 
convened, the supreme power should consist, and "shall have 
power to call either Court or magistrate, or any other person what- 
soever, into question for any misdemeanor, and may for such 
cause displace, or deal otherwise, according to the nature of the 
offence." 

This memorable Constitution, contains in its final clause a Bill 
of Rights, which will ever remain an honor to the men who 
drew the instrument. 

The settlers of the first Colony (Plymouth) subscribed, before 
leaving the vessel in which they had embarked, a covenant or 
compact, as the basis of their government ; but this cannot be 
considered as giving such evidence of advancement in the science 
of government, as is furnished by the first Constitution of Con- 
necticut. The Constitution formed at New Haven was of a few 
months later date, and the government of the Massachusetts was 



12 

conducted in conformity with the provision of the charter. No 
history of free governments can be written, without regarding 
the constitution of civil government formed by our fathers at 
Hartford in 1639. Its provisions were subsequently, in a great 
measure, incorporated in the Charter granted by King Charles II, 
in April, 1662, and its important principles re-asserted in our pres- 
ent Constitution. 

Soon after their settlement, the first colonists became engaged 
in a war with the Pequots. That powerful tribe sustained a sig- 
nal defeat. A remnant of them fled from the eastern part of the 
State to Sasco, a name which then appears to have been appro- 
priated to what was subsequently termed "the Great Swamp in 
Fairfield," and which is now known by the name of Pequot 
Swamp. It was this expedition which led to the settlement of 
this town.* 

We will speak briefly of the expedition. The statement given 
in Trumbull's History of Connecticut is familiar to many. The 
following is from the private journal of Governor Winthrop, who, 
it may be proper to observe, was not in the expedition. " Eighty 
of their stoutest men (speaking of the Pequots) were at a place 
within twenty or thirty miles of the Dutch, whither our men 
marched, and being guided by a divine Providence, came upon 
them where they had twenty wigwams, hard by a most hideous 
swamp, so thick and so quagmiry, as men could hardly crowd 
into it. Into this swamp they were all gotten. Lieut. Daven- 
port, and two or three more that entered the swamp, were dan- 
gerously wounded by the Indian arrows, and with much diffi- 
culty were fetched out. Then our men surrounded the swamp, 
being a mile about, and shot at the Indians and they at them, 
from three of the clock in the afternoon till they desired parley and 
offered to yield, and life was offered to all that had not shed En- 
glish blood. So they began to come forth, now some and then 
some, till about two hundred women and children were come 
out, and amongst them the Sachem of that place, and they thus 
kept us two hours, till night was come on, and then the men 
told us they would fight it out ; and so they did all the night, 
coming up behind the bushes very near our men, and shot many 
arrows into their hats, sleeves and stocks ; yet (which was a very 
miracle) not one of ours was wounded. When it was near morn- 
ing it grew very dark, so as such of them as were left, crept out 
at one place and escaped, being (as was judged) not above twenty 
at most, and those like to be wounded." 

The late President Dwight, in his Greenfield Hill, has given 
the following account of the manner in which the troops discov- 
ered the resting place of their enemies : 

* See Note A. 



13 

" Amid a circling marsh, expanded wide, 

To a lone hill the Pequods wound their way ; 

And none but Heaven, the mansion had descried, 

Close-tangled, wild, impervious to the day ; 

But one poor wanderer, loitering long astray, 

Wilder'd in labyrinths of pathless wood, 

In a tall tree embower'd, obscurely lay : 

Strait summon'd down the trembling suppliant show'd 

Where lurk'd his vanish'd friends, within their drear abode, 

" To death the murderers were anew requir'd, 

A pardon proffer'd and a peace assur'd : 

And though with vengeful heat their foes were fir'd, 

Their lives, their freedom, and their lands secured. 

Some yielding heard." 

Dr. Trumbull observes, that " Mr. Ludlow, who went with 
the troops in pursuit of the Pequots to Sasco, was so much pleased 
with that fine tract of country, that he soon projected the scheme 
of a settlement in that part of the colony. This year (1639) 
he with a number of others, began a plantation at Unquowa, 
which was the Indian name of the town. At first there were but 
about eight or ten families. These probably removed from Wind- 
sor with Mr. Ludlow, who was the principal planter. Very soon 
after, another company came from Watertown and united with 
Mr. Ludlow and the people from Windsor. A third company re- 
moved into the plantation from Concord ; so that the inhabitants 
soon became numerous, and formed themselves into a distinct 
township under the jurisdiction of Connecticut."* There were 
but three towns in the State before the settlement of that which 
we now inhabit. The number of inhabitants in Connecticut at 
this period, was about eight hundred souls, or one hundred and 
sixty or seventy families ;f and the number of ratable persons in 
Connecticut, so late as the year 1665, was 775.J 

The expedition in pursuit of the Pequots to Sasco, was impor- 
tant in its consequences. " By the pursuit of the Pequots to the 
westward," says Dr. Trumbull, " the English became acquainted 
with that fine tract along the shore from Saybrook to Fairfield," 
and the settlement of New Haven, as well as of Fairfield, is dis- 
tinctly attributed to this circumstance. 

It is proper that we here speak of Roger Ludlow, who accom- 
panied that expedition, and who may be considered as the founder 
of this town. 

This gentleman was one of the early and most distinguished 
settlers of New England. He was chosen a magistrate of Massa- 
chusetts, before leaving England, and was a member of the 
first Court of Magistrates held on board the Arbella, in the 
harbor of Boston. He was subsequently, and in more than 
one instance, a Lieutenant Governor of that State. He was 

* Trumbull's Hist. Con., Vol. i, p. 109. t Hist. Col., p. 10. 

t Trumbull's Hist. Con., Vol. i, p. 224. 



14 

there active and useful, and superintended the erection of the first 
military works on Castle Island. In 1635, he with others com- 
menced the settlement of the town of Windsor in this State, 
and from 1635 until 1654, he was either a magistrate or Lieu- 
tenant Governor of the Colony. He compiled at the request of 
the General Court, our first body of laws ; he was for a time a 
member of the Board of Commissioners of the United Colonies, 
and is considered by Trumbull as having been " a principal," in 
forming " the original civil Constitution" of which we have 
spoken, who also declares, that for jurisprudence, he appears to 
have been second to none in New England at that time.* 

In 1652 it was believed that Stuyvesant, the Dutch Governor 
at the Manhadoes, " was confederate with the Indians, in a plot 
for the extirpation of the English Colonists."! At a meeting of 
the Commissioners of the United Colonies, war under certain 
contingencies was resolved upon, and measures taken to that end. 
The General Court of Massachusetts, refused to be bound by the 
determination of the Commissioners, although the courts at Con- 
necticut and New Haven, had voted their respective quotas of men, 
appointed their officers, and given orders that all necessary prep- 
aration should be made for the designed expedition. Such was 
the danger of attack from the Indians, that the inhabitants 
of this and other towns, were to a great extent prevented from 
prosecuting their customary labors, and the consequent incon- 
venience and distress were great. Under these circumstances 
it cannot appear very surprising, that without waiting for further 
orders the frontier towns should raise a military force of which 
Mr. Ludlow accepted the command. " He was" says Dr. 
Trumbull, " one of the most zealous for prosecuting the war 
against the Dutch, and no man was more displeased, that the col- 
onies did not follow the determinations of the Commissioners. 
He might apprehend himself to be particularly in danger at Fair- 
field. Besides he had taken a very hasty and unadvised step in 
accepting the command of men to go against the Dutch, without 
any legal appointment." Any person who will look with atten- 
tion into the history of that period, will grant, that the circum- 
stances of the case go far to justify the course pursued by Mr. 
Ludlow. It is stated for instance, in the history of the town 
of Milford, as given in the Connecticut Historical Collections, that 
" the Indians were again troublesome in 1653, and the people 
were under the apprehension of a sudden and general massacre. 
They were greatly hindered in their farming avocations, and 

* It was doubtless at his instance, that in 1645 " the town of Fairfield made ob- 
jcrtionsto that part of the act passed in 1644, which admitted of a jury of sis. 
They insisted on twelve jurymen in all cases triable by a jury ; but consented that 
eight out of twelve should bring in a verdict." It does not appear, that a jury of 
six was ever empanelled after this time. 

t Trumbull's Con., Vol. i, p. 202. 



15 

worn down with incessant watchings." The law of self-preser- 
vation would almost seem to have required the course which the 
inhabitants of Fairfield, appear to have desired at this period, 
with respect to the prosecution of the war. No man can be 
mentioned who acted a more prominent part in the early settle- 
ment of this State than Mr. Ludlow, or one to whom the State 
is more indebted for important services.* 

It appears from existing records, that purchases were from time 
to time made from the natives, for what was deemed a fair equiv- 
alent. Mr. Ludlow, the principal planter, settled, as there is good 
reason for believing, near the present residence of Capt. Benson, 
and the first courts of which we have knowledge, were held a 
small distance west. The lands at Sasco, and at Compo, were 
subsequently divided among the inhabitants. The lands from 
about the centre of this parish, to the north line of the town were 
disposed of at a subsequent period, and in a different manner. 

It would be interesting to dwell on many particulars connected 
with the early progress of the settlement, but I desire to confine 
myself to those, which on this day may justly claim our attention. 

It appears that the first minister of Fairfield was the Rev. John 
Jones. Dr. Trumbull states respecting him, that he was episco- 
pally ordained in England. From his will, a copy of which now 
remains among the records of the town, it appears that he died in 
1664 or 1665, leaving a widow and six children; two sons and 
four daughters. He was succeeded in 1665 by the Rev. Samuel 
Wakeman, whose ministry continued until 1692. Mr. Wake- 
man was one of the four ministers appointed by the legislature 
in 1668, to meet at Saybrook and " devise a way of uniting the 
churches in some general plan of church communion and disci- 
pline, by which they might walk, notwithstanding their different 
sentiments in points of less importance." " This," says Trum- 
bull, " appears to have been the first step towards forming a re- 
ligious constitution." It led to the formation of the Saybrook 
Platform in 1708. The Rev. Joseph Webb was his successor 
in August, 1694, and died in 1732. Mr. Webb was one of the 
founders of Yale College, and appears to have been a Fellow of 
that Institution from 1700 to 1732. 

It was in his ministry that the church in this parish was 
formed. By an extract from the records in Hartford, it appears 
that in the October session, 1714, the General Assembly did al- 
low the inhabitants of West Farms in Fairfield, to embody them- 
selves into a church estate. The name of Green's Farms does 
not occur until long after. By our records it. appears that the 
church was formed October 26th, 1715, and that the Rev. Daniel 
Chapman, was on the same day ordained their pastor. The ori- 

* See Note B. 



16 

ginal covenant was subscribed by seven persons besides Mr. Chap- 
man. These probably were all the male members of the church. 
The ministry of Mr. Chapman, continued until 1741, in which 
year he died. The number of members in the church at this 
time appears to have been eighty.* 

Mr. Chapman was succeeded by the Rev. Daniel Buckingham, 
who was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry in this place 
March 19, 1742, and who died May 23, 1766, after a ministry of 
more than twenty four years. At the time of his decease, there 
were 75 members of the church. 

The Rev. Hezekiah Ripley, commenced his labors here in the 
fall of 1766, and was ordained pastor Feb. 11, 1767. During his 
ministry occurred the Revolutionary war, and for a time he, as 
chaplain, was connected with the army. The inhabitants of this 
place were great sufferers during that war. Those whose recol- 
lections embrace that eventful period, inform me that during their 
religious worship, alarming tidings were not un frequently received. 
In such cases and at the desire of Dr. Ripley, who was unwilling 
to forego those services, persons were stationed at such points that 
they might give timely notice of the approach of the enemy. 
What a contrast to the peaceful scenes of the present hour ! 

As the visit of the British troops to this place, in July, 1779, is 
the most calamitous event which has occurred since its first settle- 
ment, J will mention it in the words of Chancellor Kent. " The 
British incendiaries on the morning of the 8th of July, (Thurs- 
day,) swept along over the village of Green's Farms, and destroy- 
ed all the houses for near a mile in succession ; and among others 
the house where I had slept on the Tuesday evening preceding, 
and the house of the Rev. Dr. Ripley, and the meeting house in 
which that excellent man used to preach. If he still lives," was 
in 1831, the language of Chancellor Kent, respecting Dr. Ripley, 
"as I believe he does, he is among the oldest of the Connecticut 
clergy, and I have not lost for him, a particle of my early rever- 
ence." Dr. Ripley died in November succeeding the delivery of 
the Address, in connection with which this statement was pub- 
lished, and it may not be improper to state, that he was highly 
gratified with the respectful mention of a man he esteemed so 
much.f 

During the ministry of Dr. Ripley, the years 1815 and 1816, 
appear to have been the most distinguished for attention to divine 
things. In these years, there were thirty eight persons who uni- 
ted with the church. 

Dr. Ripley resigned his pastoral charge in Aug. 1821, at which 
time the Rev. Edward W. Hooker, was ordained Pastor of this 
Church. The ministry of Mr. Hooker, continued until Jan., 
1829, when he was dismissed at his own request. During his 

* See Note C. t See Note D 



17 

ministry there were 19 persons received into the church ; 16 by 
profession, and 3 by recommendation from other churches. 

The present pastor commenced his labors in this place, May 
10th, 1829, and was installed October 29th, in the same year. 
Since my installation there have been 110 persons received into 
the church ; 99 by profession, and 11 by recommendation from 
other churches. About 40 have been dismissed to the church 
in Westport and the number of members in the church on the 
1st of Jan. 1839, was 148, including 16 who were non-resident. 
The year 1831 has been more than all others distinguished for 
attention to the interests of the soul. Oh, that with the remem- 
brance of those happy scenes, there might arise fervent and effec- 
tual prayer for their renewal ! 

It may not be improper to mention, that all the pastors of this 
church, with the exception of Mr. Hooker, have been graduates 
of Yale College ; and that there have been as few changes in the 
ministry in this, as in any other church in this county, formed at 
so early a period. There have been five pastors including the 
present, and for a period of more than one hundred and twenty 
four years, the pulpit has been supplied with scarcely an interrup- 
tion. The maintenance of divine worship has been an object 
dear to the hearts of those who have here lived. The destruc- 
tion of their house of worship in 1779, was, with the other dis- 
tresses of that time, severely felt ; but they cheerfully made the 
sacrifices then necessary to erect the present edifice ; in which, 
in consideration of their losses, they were aided by the State. I 
should do injustice to the convictions of my mind, and to the 
grateful feelings of my heart, if I did not say, that they have 
been distinguished for their attachment and respect to those who 
have been placed over them in the Lord. 

1. We will speak briefly of the Results of the settlement of 
our Puritan Fathers in New England. 

By it, Christianity has diffused her light and blessings through 
extensive regions, from which light radiates over distant and be- 
nighted lands. The preservation and extension of the church of 
Christ as the prominent object of their great enterprise, is beauti- 
fully indicated in the Seal of the State. Three vines are there 
presented us with the words, Qui transtulit, sustinet, (He who 
transplanted, still sustains.) 

Let us look at the condition of the State, when its constitution 
of civil government was adopted. It consisted of three towns, 
containing three churches, no one of which was originally gath- 
ered in this State. The three vines of the Seal I suppose to in- 
dicate those churches which were here transplanted ; and how 
scriptural the allusion. " Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt," 
is the language of the eightieth Psalm, " thou hast cast out the 
heathen and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and 

3 



18 

didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills 
were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof, 
were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the 
sea, and her branches unto the river." How beautiful and how 
true when applied to the American Church ! Our fathers consid- 
ered that arbitrary power made their native land in a degree, as 
was Egypt to Israel, and evidently acknowledge his goodness in 
leading them, and here planting them amid the tokens of his favor. 
The vine here transplanted He has indeed sustained. It has 
taken root, and, blessed be His name, has filled the land. The 
branches of this vine are already extending beyond the moun- 
tains, to yield its fruits by the western sea. Animated by the 
spirit of the Pilgrims, their sons have gone forth as heralds of the 
gospel ; and while some speak of the prospect natural and moral 
from the sides of the Himmaleh Mountains, others from the West 
send us the joyful news that the Isles wait for his law. 

2. The settlement of this country has been greatly promotive 
of the cause of civil and religious freedom. 

Written constitutions of government " are the work of mod- 
em times alone ; and they evince a prodigious advance of the 
minds of men towards perfection in human governments, beyond 
all that was known in previous ages. Some resemblance indeed 
to such constitutions may be traced in the laws of Athens and of 
Sparta, but it is only a faint resemblance : the United States have 
given the first example in the history of mankind, of a nation 
deliberately and peaceably establishing its form of government 
as defined by a written constitution, of which the provisions are 
as comprehensive and full as they are explicit and universally 
known. We have thus accomplished for ourselves, what God 
was pleased to accomplish for the Israelites by the hand of Mo- 
ses. "* The constitutions of civil government formed in this 
country have exerted and will continue to exert a great influence 
in other lands. Their sound has gone through all the earth, and 
their words to the end of the world. When the political regen- 
eration of the world shall have been accomplished ; when the fet- 
ters shall have fallen from the limbs of the slave, and the thrones 
of despots subverted, the nations will bless God for the precious 
spark of liberty preserved by the Puritans ; and in the train of 
causes which have led to the grand result, will assign an honored 
place to the noble written constitution, formed by our fathers in 
1639. 

3. The cause of education and of human happiness has been 
vastly promoted. 

From the records of the State, of towns, and of parishes, we 
learn that from the very first, a zeal in the cause of learning was 

* Discourse by Rev. W. T. Dwight of Portland, Dec. 1, 1836. 



19 

by our fathers manifested, which we may imitate, but shall not 
surpass. It is unnecessary to recapitulate various votes of towns, 
or enactments of the General Court. Provision was made for 
the instruction of children of the poor, on the ground that duty 
and the common good required it. Religious instruction was 
communicated in the schools. With just and enlarged views, 
aid was extended to Harvard College, before the establishment of 
a College in this State; and now while in England, one twenty 
fifth, in others one thirty fifth, and in some melancholy instances 
one fortieth only of the whole population enjoy the benefits of in- 
struction, here about one fourth enjoy these benefits ; and while 
from the great schools of Oxford and Cambridge, dissenters are 
still excluded, our Colleges are open to all. 

The common blessings of life, we may suppose are diffused in 
the two countries among the great mass of inhabitants about in 
the same proportion ; and when reading, as I have done, how in 
times of distress in the mother country, it has been a matter 
of calculation among some of the operatives, whether it would 
be better to labor the entire evening for three farthings, deducting 
from that sum two farthings for the expense of light, or to re- 
main in darkness, and husband the remains of strength for the 
labors of the succeeding day, I have blessed God who has 
opened this asylum for the oppressed. 

I hasten to observe, that what with so much toil has been ob- 
tained, should be carefully cherished and preserved. 

Guard well your civil rights. The first Constitution of this 
State furnishes evidence that in the estimation of our fathers, the 
preservation of liberty was a trust confided to the entire body of 
freemen, and they carefully guarded against the abuse of power 
and neglect of duty on the part of the magistrate. It is the duty 
of every freeman to read and understand the laws of his country. 
When the laws of this State were in manuscript only, they were 
publicly read in the respective towns ; and when in 1672 they 
were first printed, the Assembly enacted that every family should 
have a law book. The same reasons do not now indeed exist 
for this, for the laws of those times somewhat resembled family 
legislation ; but no man can be an intelligent and useful citizen 
who is ignorant of the laws of his country. It is the duty of 
every citizen to attend meetings held for the choice of rulers and 
the transaction of all important business. For a time, after the 
settlement of the State, the entire body of freemen were accus- 
tomed to assemble at Hartford. With comparative ease, every 
freeman may discharge the duties here pointed out, as those which 
he owes his country and himself ; and I trust that we have not 
so far degenerated from the good principles of our fathers, as to 
be insensible that the manner in which the obligations of the 
freeman's oath have been discharged, will find a place among the 
ransactions of the Great Day. 



20 

Let there be a true toleration.* 

While it is freely admitted that our fathers had not those tole- 
rant principles on the subject of religious profession which are 
characteristic of a later age, their practice on some points may 
even here afford us instruction* Dogmatism and metaphysics 
were not then so rampant as has been commonly supposed. Par- 
ticular churches so framed their confessions of faith as to embrace 
a greater diversity of religious belief than is embraced in many 
of our confessions at the present time. 

From the private journal of Governor Winthrop, under date of 
September, 1636, we learn that the then " Governour Mr. Vane, 
a wise and godly gentleman, held, with Mr. Cotton and many 
others, the indwelling of the person of the Holy Ghost in a be- 
liever, and went so far beyond the rest as to maintain a personal 
union with the Holy Ghost ; but the deputy, with the pastor and 
divers others denied both ; and the question proceeded so far by 
disputation (in writing, for the peace sake of the church, which 
all were tender of) as at length they could not find the person of 
the Holy Ghost in Scripture, nor in the primitive churches three 
hundred years after Christ. So that all agreeing in the chief 
matter of substance, viz. that the Holy Ghost is God, and that he 
doth dwell in the believers (as the Father and Son are said also 
to do), but whether by his gifts and power only, or by any other 
manner of presence, seeing the Scripture doth not declare it, it 
was earnestly desired that the word person might be forborne, 
being a term of human invention, and tending to doubtful dispu- 
tation in this case." 

Any person who will examine the creeds and confessions of 
faith, as contained in the ancient records of our churches, and 
compare them with many now extant, will be convinced that a 
straiter sect than that of our fathers has here arisen. There ap- 
pears to be a manifest propriety in requiring more definite views 
and greater precision of statement from those who are to preach 
the gospel, than can be required of the great body of communi- 
cants ; and it appears to be highly desirable that churches of dif- 
ferent demoninations should rather diminish than increase the 
number and particularity of articles to which assent, as a term of 
communion, must be given. Were this done, the bonds of broth- 
erhood would be strengthened and true fellowship increased. 

Toleration by law of all religious denominations exists. Let 
us bless God for it ; and while holding fast the faith once deliv- 
ered to the saints, also remember that until we arrive at that 
blessed world, in whose light we shall see eye to eye, there will 
always be debatable ground in the church, which should be oc- 
cupied not in angry controversy, but in free Christian discussion. 

* See Note E. 



21 

We learn that so early as the year 1732, and it is the first in- 
stance in which the name Green's Farms occurs in our records, 
the taxes for religious worship, gathered by the Collector, were 
paid to a minister of the Episcopal Church, in proportion to 
the number and property of the inhabitants belonging to that 
communion. Let us rejoice to see our Christian brethren, though 
called by another name, rearing their churches and founding their 
institutions. Within the limits of the original town of Fairfield, 
there are seven Congregational, three Episcopal, three Methodist, 
and three Baptist churches, living in harmony, and presenting a 
fair specimen of the peaceful and prosperous state of these com- 
munions in New England. May peace be within their walls and 
prosperity within their palaces ! 
Promote the cause of Education. 

Our schools and churches are the foundation of our political 
institutions. Without intelligence there cannot be virtue, and 
without virtue, the discharge of appropriate civil duties will give 
place to unhallowed contests. It was a remark of a distinguish- 
ed American statesman, in reference to the republics of the South, 
that you might as well construct a seventy four gunship from 
chestnut saplings, as a republic from Spanish materials. Repub- 
lican France sought refuge in a military despotism, and the voice 
of liberty at the South, has well nigh expired in a deluge of 
blood. The spirit of liberty breathed by our fathers into the 
body of republican government, still lives. Its eye is not dim, 
nor its natural force abated ; and this, because in the colleges, 
the schools, the churches they founded, provision was made for 
the preservation of learning and of religion,— the lights of the 
world. Bring up your children in* the fear of God, and they will 
then be blessings to the land. Let the word of God be, as it now 
is, a book for reading in your schools. Let the Catechism of the 
Assembly of Divines be taught your children. Much of the pi- 
ety which has adorned New England is doubtless, under God, to 
be attributed to the practice, once almost universal, of instruct- 
ing the rising generation in that form of sound words. Show 
your children, that, as sinful beings, they need the renewing and 
sanctifying influences of God's Spirit. Let the morning and eve- 
ning incense arise from the family altar. Be constant in your 
attendance, with your children, in the house of God ; consider 
the education, the adornment of the immortal mind, as of greater 
worth than silver or gold ; then shall your sons be as plants 
grown up in their youth, and your daughters as corner stones 
polished after the similitude of a palace. 

Place the subject of religion before your mind, as that which is 
of surpassing, even of immeasurable worth. 

The sacrifices, the toils, the dangers, the institutions of the 
Pilgrims, are so many comments on the worth of the soul. By 



22 

these, though dead, our fathers speak, exhorting us to prepare for 
an eternal destiny. Consider, then, the days of old, the years of 
ancient times. 

There is no subject, perhaps, to which a mind given to reflec- 
tion, more frequently turns, than to the history of the genera- 
tions which have preceded us ; the myriads and myriads of im- 
mortal beings who have lived upon the earth ; and no thought in 
this connection is more appropriate, than that, while the day of 
grace for the past generations of men is gone, now is our day. 
Repent of sin, and believe in Christ, and walk before him in 
newness of life. Aspire to the benevolence of heaven, as you 
would aspire to its felicity. Choose life, and choose it now, — 
and from the unhappy fate of many, even in ancient times and 
in the days of old, be warned not to hesitate or defer in this great 
matter. 

We have dwelt upon the history of our fathers, and the forms 
of those venerable men have seemed to pass before us. And now 
shall we not rise up and call them blessed ? Shall we not honor 
them for the courage that knew no fear, — the perseverance which 
would not yield to privations and hardships long continued, — the 
benevolence which sought the good of all succeeding genera- 
tions ? Shall we not honor them for making the glory of God 
and the good of men the great ends of their action ? and more 
than this, shall we not make efforts to prove ourselves the worthy 
sons of those glorious sires, by emulating their purity of principle, 
and elevation of purpose ? Then when these present times shall 
to succeeding generations become " the days of old," and we 
shall have joined the spirits of those just made perfect, our 
children, and our children's children, shall rise up and call us 
blessed, and shall accord to us the praise of having preserved and 
augmented for them the legacy which our Pilgrim fathers be- 
queathed to their remote descendants. 



23 



A HYMN COMPOSED FOR MARCH 29, 1S39. 

1. These Fields so Fair which round us spread, 

Speak of the men who sought the West, 
And lives of toil and suff'ring led, 

That we, their children, might be blest. 

2. The Schools these beauteous vales disclose, 

The Churches which our hills adorn, 
The Laws 'neath which we safe repose, 
'Mid blessings rich at eve and morn : — 

3. Memorials dear of those who gave 

Wealth, country, all, for Him whose hand 
Sustained them 'mid the swelling wave, 
And plac'd them as in promis'd land. 

4. Thrones have been rear'd in crime and blood, 

And gold and fame their followers draw ; 
Our fathers sought not these ; they stood 
For God, for Liberty and Law. 

5. Around them rose war's savage powers ; 

Pale want did evils dire combine ; 
Richer than fig-tree's fruits are ours, 
And o'er us spreads the peaceful vine. 

6. Thanks for such sires, Immortal King, 

Us, as thy covenant children, own ; 
Safe in their steps thy servants bring, 
To stand with them before thy throne. 



NOTES. 



Note A. 

The chartered limits of the towns of Fairfield and Norwalk, were such 
as to leave for many years an intervening territory, whose inhabitants 
were termed " the inhabitants of the bank side, between Fairfield and 
Norwalk." Disputes arose between the towns, and a letter from gentle- 
men in Norwalk may be seen in the first book of Fairfield records, (lately 
recovered,) which shows that while the men of Fairfield, had not been 
backward in asserting their claims, those of Norwalk knew how to guard 
their own interests. The limits of Fairfield as originally fixed by the 
legislature extended seven miles " upon the sea coast, and from the sea at 
least twelve miles into the country to the northward." That part of Read* 
ing which lies north of the road passing from east to west by the churches, 
was not covered by the charter of any town, and became the property of 
individuals, either by purchase from the natives, or by grants from the le- 
gislature. Tradition states, that Mr. Webb of Fairfield, had one hun- 
dred acres assigned to him by the legislature, for preaching an election 
sermon, and that he considered himself as poorly paid. The north-west- 
ern part of the tract was purchased of the Indians, by the Hon. Nathan 
Gold. In this deed mention is made of Umpawaug Pond, and of "ye 
path yt goeth from Poquiag ye English plantation, down to Norwalk." I 
presume this is one of the earliest references to the settlement of the town 
of Danbury, which can be found. 

A history of the town and county is a desideratum. Some interesting 
particulars may be found in the Travels of President Dwight, and in the 
Historical Collections of Mr. Barber. I have regretted, however, to per- 
ceive a statement in the latter work, in which in an account of a military 
execution in the town of Reading, Gen. Putnam is represented as exer- 
cising great cruelty. Mr. Barber must have been misinformed. Reading 
is my native town, and from my boyhood I have heard the history of the 
proceedings on the occasion referred to, and was much surprised at the 
statements in. the Historical Collections. The Rev. Mr. Bartlett, whose 
father was Chaplain on that occasion, informs me that Gen. Putnam could 
not have been guilty of the acts there charged. 

That Mr. Barber may have something to substitute for the narrative to 
which I object, I give the following : 

When Gen. Putnam occupied the house of which Mr. Barber has given 
an engraving, a scene occurred which presents the General in very amia- 

4 



26 

hie light. A poor man with a family needing support, and who lived in the 
neighboring town of Ridgefield, was told by one acquainted with his 
wants, that if he would visit Gen. Putnam and hold a conversation with 
him, he would on his return, and on proof of the fact, give him a bushel 
of wheat. The temptation in that time of scarcity and taxes, was great, 
and so also was the fear of intruding upon so distinguished an individual; 
but the stern necessities of his condition, at length induced the poor man 
to venture. He accordingly presented himself at head quarters, and re- 
quested the servant to solicit for him an interview with the general. Put- 
nam promptly summoned the man to his presence, directed him to be 
seated, and listened with interest while the man with great trepidation 
gave the statement which accounted for the liberty he had taken. The 
genera] directed the servant to bring some wine — conversed for a time 
very pleasantly with his needy visitor, and then calling for pen and ink, 
wrote a certificate, in which he gives the name of the individual, and stated 
that he had visited and conversed with Gen. Putnam, who signed it in his 
official character. Thus furnished with the means of giving bread to 
his family, the distressed individual returned to his humble roof, and 
this anecdote which I have on the very best authority, is proof that 
Putnam was not destitute of those kind and gentle affections, which are 
so desirable an ornament of the most heroic character. 

Note B. 

It is stated by Dr. Trumbull in his History of the State, that Mr. Lud- 
low was " clerk of the town of Fairfield, and carried off their records, 
and other public writings." A similar statement has been made by oth- 
ers, but that it has its origin in mistake, is believed for the following 
reasons. 1. Mr. Ludlow was Lieutenant Governor, and was perhaps 
more fully occupied with the public concerns than any other individ- 
ual ; it is not probable he held the office of Town Clerk. 2. By taking 
away the records, he would have endangered his title to his own lands 
which were among the most valuable in the town, and which to the 
extent of about three hundred acres, were sold by his agent, Alexan- 
der Byran, Esq., one of the magistrates of the New Haven colony. 3. 
Aged persons informed upon the subject, have told me that they did not 
believe Mr. Ludlow carried away the records of the town, but say that 
the early records were in part written in the character called German 
Text, and that a person was employed by the town to transcribe them. 
His bill for that service, being disallowed, he would not put the town in 
possession of his copy. Probably the first volume of records was from 
that time missing. 4. A volume of nearly five hundred pages, and hav- 
ing every appearance of being the original first volume of town records, 
and from which about ten pages are missing, has lately been placed in 
the town clerk's office, having been in the town and in private hands, for 
an indefinite period. In this there are records of earlier date than the 
removal of Mr. Ludlow. 5. There are no records of the County Court, 
of so remote a date as the year 1700. As Mr. Ludlow left in the year 
1654, and certain records of a later date are missing, it is charitable 
to suppose, that Mr. Ludlow, a man who for important and long contin- 
ued services, deserved well of his country, did not take with him any pa- 
pers to which he was not entitled. 



27 



Note C. 

' The present meeting-house is the third erected in the Parish. The 
first was occupied for about twenty five years, and was situated on the 
Green ; and that district was called Maximus. The second house of 
worship stood opposite the Southern burial place, and was burnt by the 
British, as stated in the discourse. 

For the accommodation of Mr. Chapman, the first minister, a parson- 
age house was erected. By vote of the Parish, it was ordered that it 
should be forty two feet long, and twenty feet wide ; and that it should 
be covered with shingles four and a half feet long. At a subsequent 
meeting it was concluded that shingles three feet in length would do very 
well, and it was directed that these should be used. 

In the early years of his settlement, Mr. Chapman was allowed eight 
pounds annually for wood ; and it was stipulated, that if any chose to 
pay their proportion of the sum in wood, they should, for oak, be allowed 
two shillings a load. They supposed, therefore, that eighty loads a year 
was but a reasonable allowance. The sum assigned for wood was sub- 
sequently increased. 

Thirty shillings at first, and subsequently fifty shillings, were annually 
voted as a compensation for sweeping the meeting-house, and beating the 
drum, which in those days answered the purpose of a bell. By a vote of 
December 23, 1734, it was ordered that " John Blackman shall beat the 
drum on Clapboard Hill, and sweep the meeting-house, and have fifty 
shillings for his so doing." 

December 12th, 1733, it was voted that the Constables, Grandjury- 
men, and Tythingmen, should sit in the front seat in the gallery. 

Note D. 

I placed a copy of the Address delivered at New Haven before the Phi 
Beta Kappa Society, September, 1831, by Chancellor Kent, in the hands 
of Dr. Ripley, soon after its publication, and directed his attention to the 
note in which his name had been introduced. " Ah," said the Doctor, 
" James was always a good boy !" 

In compliance with the wishes of some of the friends of Dr. Ripley, 
an extract from a Sermon preached December 4th, 1831, the Sabbath 
after his decease, is here introduced. It has already appeared in the 
Evangelical Magazine. 

The Rev. Dr. Ripley, who closed his long and honorable career dur- 
ing the last week, was a native of Windham, in this State, and was born 
February 3d, Old Style, 174 >. He was the fourth in descent from one of 
those Pilgrim Fathers who landed on the Rock at Plymouth, That ances- 
tor was Governor Bradford; and the daughter of Lieut. Governor Brad- 
ford was married to Mr. Ripley, the grandfather of Dr. Ripley ; — and 
surely, in bodily and mental vigor, as well as in sincere and unaffected 
piety, our departed friend was a worthy representative of the noble Pil- 
grim stock from which he sprang. 

He was graduated at Yale College in 1763, and early formed the reso- 
lution of devoting himself to the service of God, in the ministry of the Gos- 



28 

pel. I am not aware that any documents remain which show what were 
his religious opinions, or what the exercises of his mind at this period ; 
but as he never, in any of the interviews which I had with him, spoke of 
entertaining, in the latter part of his life, different sentiments from those 
which at the commencement of his ministry he had cherished, we may 
conclude that he then embraced those doctrines of grace for which the 
churches of New England have been distinguished, and which, during the 
period of my acquaintance with him, he held with undoubting faith and 
joyful confidence. In conformity then, with his known opinions upon 
these subjects, we may suppose that in early life he cherished the hope, 
that through the influences of the Spirit of God, he had passed from death 
unto life. He made a public profession of his faith in Christ, and united, 
I believe, with a church in Pomfret, then under the pastoral care of his 
brother, where also, for a period, he devoted himself to preparation for the 
ministry. He came to this place as a candidate for settlement near the 
close of the year 1766, the Rev. Mr. Buckingham, who for a period of 
more than twenty-four years, had been pastor of this church, having died 
in May of that year. Mr. Ripley was ordained, February llth, 1767, 
and continued in the peaceful discharge of parochial duty until the com- 
mencement of the Revolutionary war. Faithful to those principles of civil 
and religious liberty, for which his ancestors had been distinguished, he 
did not hesitate respecting the course which he should pursue. He dis- 
charged, for a time the duties of a Chaplain in the Continental army, and 
participated largely in the sufferings of that eventful period ; — his house, 
his furniture, and a portion of his library, having been burned by the ene- 
my. While his countrymen, were engaged in war, his feelings were alive 
to their success ; although amid the contest, he pursued those labors 
which were appropriate to a servant of the Prince of Peace. The inde- 
pendence of the country established, he was relieved from the almost con- 
stant alarm and anxiety incident to a residence upon the seaboard, and 
gladly hailed the return of peace, when every man could sit under his own 
vine and fig tree, having none to disturb or make him afraid. He was 
now enabled to assist in the support of those institutions, with whose pros- 
perity the welfare of our country is so intimatly connected. Yale College 
ever found in him a warm and constant friend. Tn 1790, he was chosen 
a member of the Corporation of that Institution : in which office he con- 
tinued for the term of seven-and-twenty years, and resigned it on account 
of the infirmities of advancing age, in the same year in which died its late 
venerable President Dwight ; and in this connection, it may not be im- 
proper to state, that the friendship which existed between those men was 
a source of great enjoyment to each. Settled for many years in adjacent 
parishes, their intercourse was frequent and of the most endearing char- 
acter ; and during the whole of that period in which Dr. Dwight was con- 
nected with Yale College, as its President, Dr. Ripley was a member of 
its Corporation ; and in hearing from the lips of the deceased, the history 
of their friendship, I was reminded of that beautiful expression of sacred 
writ, ' The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.' 

It cannot be supposed that the life of a minister of the Gospel, under 
ordinary circumstances, should be fruitful of remarkable events; but in 
reviewing that of our departed friend, we find evidence of the respect in 
which, by his cotemporaries, he was held. In 1803, the degree of Doc- 
tor in Divinity was conferred upon him by the College of Nassau Hall. 



29 

In the year 1821, Dr. Ripley resigned his office as minister of this peo- 
ple, more than fifty-four years having elapsed from the time of his ordina- 
tion. In August of the present year, he was called to mourn the loss of 
Madam Ripley, and a union was thus dissolved which had continued for 
more than sixty-six years; and at length in the 89th year of his age, and 
in the 65th since his ordination to the work of the ministry, he has been 
called to follow his deceased companion to the world of spirits. ' Lovely 
and pleasant were they in their lives and in their deaths not long divided ;' 
and I know not any thing in the word of God, which should forbid our 
supposing that his entrance into blessedness may have been welcomed, 
and perhaps first welcomed, by her who was here the partner of his labor 
and the partaker of his faith. Such is a brief outline of the history of our 
departed friend ; and now when I attempt to sketch his character, I de- 
sire to remember his own injunction, when he requested me to preach his 
funeral sermon, ' not to exalt him in the view of the people.' A just state- 
ment of my sentiments respecting him, will, I trust, be no departure from 
the spirit of that injunction. 

Of the character of his mind I have already briefly spoken. He had a 
sound mind in a sound body, which have ever been considered as the first 
of earthly blessings. His mind presented all the elements of true great- 
ness, — strength of memory and depth of judgment, with a readiness to 
compare and to combine. In the remark which he made to me, ' not to 
exalt him in the view of the people,' he manifested that unambitious spirit 
by which he was ever characterised, and which led him to be content 
in the station in which God had placed him, and to employ his time and 
talents in such a manner as should most conduce to the good of his people, 
and not to the extension of his own fame. He never endeavored to make 
his parish a stepping-stone to something higher. 

In natural character, he was amiable. He was open, sincere, benevo- 
lent. The aged and the young alike delighted in his society. It is often 
a characteristic, and a fault of age, that it has but little interest in the in- 
nocent pleasures of the young, and that any deviation from established 
usages, induces them to censure the change without a candid examina- 
tion of the reasons for it. Age had not chilled the affections of our aged 
father. He entered without effort into the society and feelings of younger 
men, and brought with him cheerfulness, wisdom, and piety. All felt 
that he was their friend and father, — the friend of man, and the friend of 
God. 

Were we now to take that great test of character which our Saviour has 
given, ' By their fruits ye shall know them,' and apply it to the character 
of Dr. Ripley, it is believed that the result would be favorable. As a pro- 
fessing Christian, he loved not in name only, but in deed and in truth. 
The attributes of God were to him, great and present realities. He re- 
vered the greatness, — he adored the justice, — and he trusted in the mercy 
of God ; and while he often adopted the language of holy men of old, — 
their expressions as recorded in the Bible, it was a natural reflection in his 
society, that he resembled them in character. He loved God, and feared 
to sin against Him. He desired to do and to suffer all His will. In age, 
in sickness, and in comparative solitude, he manifested the meekness and 
the patience of one who trusted in God. 

In his intercourse with men, he was distinguished for purity of motive, 
so far as motive can be indicated by the conduct. He was benevolent — 



30 

he was forgiving ; and if he has left an enemy, which I hope is not the 
fact, of that enemy Dr. Ripley was the friend. That kindness, however, 
which he exhibited to all who had intercourse with him, did not result from 
an inability to judge of character. It resulted from no obtuseness of intel- 
lect. He was a remarkably good judge of character. His kind treat- 
ment of any who might ever have been unkind to him, was the result of 
Christian prudence and of Christian principle. 

As a minister of the Gospel, he was conscientious. He acted in con- 
formity with the lights he possessed. In the measures, which, during his 
ministry, he pursued, to draw a more distinctive line between the church 
and the world, by requiring those who made a profession of religion to en- 
ter into full communion, he showed a readiness to co-operate in whatever 
he considered as conducive to the prosperity of Zion. Here, however, 
I desire you to remark, that whatever change of views, that change of 
measures indicated, it involved no change of opinion respecting the great 
doctrines of the Gospel. From the first, as we have every reason to be- 
lieve, he advocated the great doctrine of regeneration through the influ- 
ences of God's Spirit, and the justification of the sinner by the righteous- 
ness of Christ alone, through faith. These doctrines he held firmly, con- 
stantly, consistently. He was beloved by his people, for they knew the 
man. He was beloved by his brethren, for they confided in him, and his 
residence was the abode of cheerfulness, of hospitality, and of piety. No 
intelligence could be carried to Dr. Ripley, which gratified him more than 
that which related to the spread of the Gospel. The late revival of reli- 
gion in this place gave joy to his aged bosom, and he contemplated those 
various institutions of benevolence, which arose in the evening of his days, 
and in the formation of some of which he was instrumental, with a father's 
heart. As truly of him as of most ministers of the Gospel, it may be said 
that ' he was clear in his great office.' Wherever he went, men felt that 
there was dignity, — and that there was purity, — and that there was piety. 
He made to me the following statement of his views and feelings, in re- 
view of his ministry and in prospect of death. A few days before the 
decease of Madam Ripley, and while he was encompassed with many in- 
firmities, he told me that on reviewing his past life, he saw that he had 
done many things which he ought not to have done, and that he had left 
undone many things which he ought to have done ; and that the sins of 
the latter class appeared to him to exceed those of the former ; but that 
he had preached the Gospel as he understood it — that never from fear, 
favor, or affection had he kept back the truth, and that he had never 
knowingly deceived a single soul, — that his trust was in the righteousness 
of Christ, and in that alone, and that he was not afraid to die. 

" Return, (said he,) O God of love, return, 

Earth is a tiresome place ; 
How long shall we thy children mourn, 

Our absence from thy face." 

An account of my last interview with him, I gave on the day of inter- 
ment. Humility, — patience, — faith, were then, eminently his charac- 
teristics. His sun has set in brightness, and has arisen, as we believe, in 
glory. Whatever may be the duration of my life, or in whatever place 
its remaining days or years be spent, this treasure is mine-, that I enjoyed 
the friendship and the prayers of him, who, on earth, is no more. 



31 



Note E. 

An Ecclesiastical Law, passed by the Legislature of this State in May, 
1742, was highly objectionable. The Rev. Nathan Birdseye, who died 
in 1818, at a very advanced age, informed me that the Dissenters of Eng- 
land made earnest request for its repeal, stating that the party then in 
power answered their request for a relaxation in the laws respecting non- 
conformists, by a reference to the laws of Connecticut. Governor Law 
showed Mr. Birdseye a letter which he had received from England upon 
this subject. 

Of Mr. Birdseye I may be permitted briefly to speak. In the summer 
of 181G, while supplying the desk in Huntington, I was favored with an 
invitation to dine with Mr. B., who lived in the village of Oronoque, in the 
neighboring town of Stratford. His son, Captain Joseph Birdseye, then 
of the age of 76 years, accompanied me. This gentleman had seen ser- 
vice in the war of the Revolution, and spoke in an interesting manner of 
the scenes of that period. On our way we saw his brother, Mr. Ezra 
Birdseye, aged about 70, and on arriving at the place of destination, the 
gate was opened by another brother, Mr. Nathan Birdseye, aged 74. 
These gentlemen conducted me to the presence of their venerated pa- 
rent, the Rev. Joseph Birdseye, who was then nealy 102 years of age. The 
father, the sons, and two daughters, who were somewhat younger than 
the youngest of the sons, formed an interesting circle. The patriarch 
directed my attention to the comforts by which he was surrounded and 
to the meadow in which he had assisted in. gathering hay for more than 
eighty successive years. He entered with ardor on some religious discus- 
sions in which he had formerly been engaged ; while the intelligence, 
the kind feelings, and the piety exhibited were highly interesting and 
instructive. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




